Tailored Japanese Knotweed treatments for infestations
across North West England
Tailored Japanese Knotweed treatments for infestations
across North West England and the wider UK.
Get professional help for the planning and implementation of an invasive weed management plan or Japanese Knotweed treatment. Contact Knotweed Eradication now.
How do we treat Japanese Knotweed?
Japanese Knotweed has few if any natural enemies in this country and biological control could eventually become your preferred option. This method would control the plant but not eradicate it. Regular cutting or pulling will eventually exhaust the plant into submission. However, the time scale, labour, and the cost make this method impractical in most cases.
Herbicide spray treatments are the most common method we use for Japanese Knotweed. This involves the application of herbicides which is effective treatment on larger areas of infestation as well as individual plants. This method offers the use of a broader range of potential herbicides though care should be taken, and you should seek the advice of one of our in-house BASIS Qualified Advisor. This method of treatment should only be undertaken by our NPTC qualified team. The timescales for complete herbicidal eradication vary depending on the site variables. After surveying, each site will be allocated a bespoke herbicidal eradication programme considering all aspects such as the client’s time scales, ecological issues, neighbouring issues and the current health of the infestation.
Alternatively we also carry out the stem injection method for Japanese Knotweed treatment. This involved the Knotweed Eradication team delivering a high dose of glyphosate-based herbicide directly into the Japanese Knotweed stem. This method is not weather dependent and directly targets the specific plant species without harming your surrounding plants. It is labour intensive as every single stem will need to be injected and is only suited to smaller infestations.
What is there isn’t enough space or time to allow for on-stie treatment?
Where there is insufficient space or time to allow for on site treatment it is possible to excavate and remove Japanese Knotweed material to licensed landfill facility. This is often referred to as ‘dig and dump’.
Many contractors will blindly quote the Environment Agency 7m X 3m guideline which will result in a huge volume of material being removed at great expense to the client whereas a considered approach and supervised excavation by experience personnel will chase the Knotweed plant out and can significantly reduce this volume sometimes by up to 90%.
Japanese Knotweed is a controlled waste and care should be taken that appointed contractors carry the appropriate waste carriers licence and that waste transfer notification is provided showing the appropriate EWC code, site of origin, waste carrier, disposal facility and that the document is signed by the appropriate persons.
Knotweed Eradication can provide all required machinery and personnel for each project and our in-house trained operatives provide resources to reduce the amount of material going to landfill by up to 60% therefore greatly reducing costs to the client. Knotweed Eradication operatives also control the works directing excavations and loading to ensure all legislations are adhered to and that no cross site contamination occurs.
This treatment option adds additional cost to the standard herbicide spray treatment, however it often means development can continue unhindered providing there is sufficient room to store material within the site. Knotweed Eradication have strong relationships with several registered landfills across all regions of the UK and Ireland which we call upon to ensure the most competitive rates are achieved for our clients.
Before treatment, we offer Japanese Knotweed identification and surveys, to ensure you know what you are dealing with. We can also help with Field Horsetail identification and Other Invasive Species.
What’s a Burial Cell?
Where sufficient storage areas are not available on site for ongoing herbicide treatment it may be possible to create a burial cell. The cell is lined with a specialist geomembrane, such as Cutex into which the excavated Japanese Knotweed is placed and encapsulated.
This option requires excavation of a suitable cell area ideally away from areas of any future ground works or the locations of any services. Liaison with the local Environment Agency officer will also be required to ensure the material is suitable to be buried and the area plotted onto a site plan for future reference.
Japanese Knotweed and contaminated soil can also be buried on site inside a heat sealed plastic membrane. This is ideal where no construction work has begun and the site can be fully excavated to make a hole deep enough to contain the Japanese Knotweed.
The burial site must not be disturbed after excavation and the re-burial location should be clearly marked on all site plans. The Environment Agency will need to be advised that the burial of Japanese Knotweed is taking place and all plans must be approved by them. It is very important that every trace of Japanese Knotweed is removed as a piece the size of a finger nail has the potential to regrow.
